


And It's At The End Of The Line Our Paths Diverge

by FiliKiliThorinForever



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Endgame spoilers ahead, F/M, GC Sam Wilson, Had to get this out of my system, M/M, Oblivious Steve, Seriously if you haven't watched then don't read, cameos from the Wakandan's, heartbroken bucky, sorry team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 09:59:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18618322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiliKiliThorinForever/pseuds/FiliKiliThorinForever
Summary: BASED IN THE AFTERMATH OF ENDGAME, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.Bucky's been in love with Steve for years, but has never admitted it. The changes Steve's undergone since the lakehouse is something he's struggling to come to terms with, and so he decides that perhaps it's his turn to find out who he is - after all, his past is nothing but decades of bloodshed and pain.But to find oneself, one must leave that what they hold most dear behind. And when demons from the past resurface Sam finds himself racing against the clock to bring Bucky home before anything happens to him; for his safety and Steve's sake.





	And It's At The End Of The Line Our Paths Diverge

**Author's Note:**

> It’s kinda funny, I’ve had this big multi chapter Stucky fic planned for the last year that I’ve been wanting to write, but I haven’t because of my other WIP’s that I couldn’t in all good conscience ignore in favour of dipping my toe into a new fandom. I watched Endgame last night and walked away in tears. I loved the movie, I did, and I think they wrapped up Steve and Tony’s arcs beautifully and in a well deserved way for each of them. But old Steve killed me a little bit, because I’ve read so many Stucky and general BFF stories that I couldn’t help but think, “what about till the end of the line, Steve?” He’s had the life he deserved, and wanted, but poor Bucky has kinda been left on his own. Although I suppose it was better than killing Steve off as I expected to happen!
> 
> I hope they focus on that a bit in the TV show (I’m so excited for it btw), and show how Bucky comes to terms with accepting that the one person from his past that he always thought would be there for him, won’t be.
> 
> Until I see that happen, this is just a little something I wanted to write to help myself come to terms with what happened, but also explore the ‘what if’s’ that Steve’s decision caused. After all, you can’t tell me his and Peggy’s life together hasn’t had ramifications somewhere!

Sam wandered down the hall of the newly rebuilt Avengers Complex, marvelling at the reconstruction of his home as he went.

It had been three months since Thanos had attacked their planet, their home, and done his best to wipe them out of existence. Again, for a large number of them who had been unlucky enough to be dusted the first time.

It had been three months since they’d lost Natasha and Tony, and the wounds their deaths had dealt them were still raw; more than once he’d woken with his heart racing, sweat dripping down his forehead and a half strangled yell caught behind his teeth.

He knew he wasn’t the only one still troubled by nightmares, or by the loss’s they’d suffered; but the extensive effort that had gone into rebuilding the Complex using science, magic and the usual blood, sweat, and tears of determination had seen the scars on the landscape healed, and their home rebuilt within eight weeks – a gargantuan effort considering just how badly everything had been destroyed.

They were all taking those first steps to recovery, and having their home restored would go a long way in making that happen.

They’d salvaged what they could of Tony’s technology, determined to keep his memory alive as much as they possibly could and with the Wonder Trio’s brains; made up of Shuri, Peter and Harley – he’d met Harley at Tony’s funeral and had offered the kid a part time job to preserve and nurture the budding genius – they’d managed to return the Complex more or less to its former glory.

They were all hurting in some way, and they were all dealing with it in their own way too.

Unfortunately, for some, dealing with the fallout had driven them away.

It had driven Clint back to his home, his family, where he could grieve for his best friend in peace.

It had driven Pepper away, back to her house to raise her daughter away from the chaos that was superheroes until Morgan was old enough to understand the world she’d been born into, and the legacy that came with her last name.

It had driven Bucky away.

The last time he had seen Bucky was a week after Tony’s funeral and Steve had used the portal to return the Infinity Stones to their rightful timeline, and to spend a much deserved and desired lifetime with Peggy.

Bucky had helped him get Steve settled into a wing in T’Challa’s castle, a temporary dwelling for him and whoever else required one until the Complex was rebuilt. Steve at first had been confused as to why they wanted him in the Complex when he clearly wasn’t going to be Avenging anymore, but as several of them had pointed out, just because he’d handed over the mantle of Captain America didn’t mean he wasn’t one of them.

He was their leader, regardless of how many wrinkles or age spots he had, and they wanted him close where they could look after him, or confide in him, when they needed a shoulder to lean on and a friend to talk to.

But he was also their family, and they’d already lost too much to let him disappear from their lives forever.

Once Bucky had helped him get Steve settled he’d left the room in a hurry, and Sam, sensing Steve’s confusion at his friend’s sudden departure, had followed the supersoldier – literally sprinting down the hallway at one point, to stop him.

It wasn’t until he’d entered Bucky’s room that he’d been able to catch the brunet, and when he’d entered it was to find the man standing in the middle of the room looking lost.

_“You okay man?”_

_Three simple words, and yet they tore into Bucky worse than any knife ever could have; the man flinching bodily at the question. He moved closer, looking his - friend? Colleague? – over in concern. Physically the man was fine, but when he looked into Bucky’s eyes, he could see the emotions roiling within._

_“Speak to me Bucky,” he said quietly, lifting a hand and gripping the flesh shoulder to help ground him. “What’s going on?”_

_“I thought I’d be okay,” Bucky replied, his voice hoarse and his eyes shiny. “But seeing him like that… Sam… I can’t stay here.”_

_A single tear escaped, and Bucky let it slide down his face unimpeded. And that, more than anything is what set him on edge. “Bucky… what do you mean?”_

_“Steve always told me, ‘till the end of the line,’ -” another tear followed, but again it wasn’t brushed away, allowed to roll slowly down his cheek to join the first. “And I always believed that. And I’m happy for him Sam, I am. I could never begrudge him the life he always wanted, with the person he always wanted, but… Steve is my last connection to my past, to my family, to who I am... and now that he’s had this whole other… life, I’ll lose that. A lot sooner than I think I can bare.” He frowned, closing his eyes. “Our end of the lines have changed, Sam. He’s left me behind.”_

_“Buck, you heard Shuri. The tests they ran show that while he looks like he might be in his 70’s, he’s still got plenty of life left in him. You won’t lose him anytime soon.”_

_“It’s not the same, Sam.” Bucky blinked rapidly, eyes turning to the ceiling as he fought off more tears. “I’ve lost him. I’ve lost my Stevie.”_

_He frowned, tilting his head slightly as he looked Bucky up and down. Something wasn’t adding up about all this. He knew Bucky and Steve were best friends, brothers really – but Bucky’s grief didn’t match up to what he knew of their past._

_And then it hit him. The realisation washing over him before being followed with the sensation of having iced water dumped over his head._

_“You love him.”_

_Bucky smiled weakly, his lips trembling as he tried to keep his emotions in check. “I always have.”_

_Oh God._

_He’d stood there and watched Steve and Bucky’s exchange before the portal, and at the time it hadn’t made a lot of sense. Steve was only going to be gone for a few seconds, so he didn’t understand this rather bizarre banter. Knowing what he did now…_

_It made perfect sense._

_“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” A sad, apologetic grin._

_“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” A soft, resigned reply with a weak, understanding smile._

_Oh God._

_“Does Steve know?”_

_Bucky shook his head, moving to the couch and sitting down heavily. He opened his mouth once, twice, trying to force words out, but they wouldn’t come. He cleared his throat and tried again, but when he spoke, the words were rasped; as though he had something lodged in his throat._

_Grief and heartbreak, he supposed._

_“When I was held in Azzano,” Bucky began, and Sam moved to sit next to the man, placing his hand back on his shoulder in silent support. It was clear Bucky needed it. “When Zola… experimented on me… all I could think of was that I wanted to die. But as I thought about it I realised that I’d never get to say goodbye to my family… would never get to see Steve again. I’d never get to tell him that I loved him, that I’d always loved him, and that I was sorry for getting my dumb ass captured and killed and leaving him alone._

_“When Steve saved me, I couldn’t believe it. Here was my scrawny, stubborn-as-an-ass, ‘come-at-me-world’ Steve looking like he always should have, if his health had never gotten in the way. I made up my mind that as soon as we got back behind friendly lines and we had time to be alone I’d tell him how I felt, consequences be damned. He deserved to know, and I knew that if I died between then and the end of the war, at least I had been honest with him. But… we got back, and I saw the way he looked at Peggy and…”_

_Bucky bit his lip, hard, and ducked his head. “I realised I’d missed my chance. He’d found the woman of his dreams; someone who saw him for who he was, not what he’d become. I couldn’t compete with that, Sam. I kept my lips sealed, and vowed to do whatever I could to ensure he made it through the War so he could marry her. I vowed that I’d take how I felt to my grave, so he’d get the happily ever after he always wanted.”_

_This poor guy. Bucky had been through so much, and just when he thought he’d finally gotten an idea of what suffered, the man threw another emotional grenade into the mix. “What about when you got your memories back? Why didn’t you say anything then?”_

_“He was still pining over Peggy, Sam,” Bucky replied. “She was old, but alive, and while it might’ve been 70 years for everyone else when he went in the ice, for him it had been a matter of months since he’d spoken to her. Even now, years after she’d gone he mourned her and the life they could’ve had. Who was I to steamroll over all of that?”_

_He wasn’t ashamed to admit he could feel his eyes burning. “He deserves to know,” he whispered._

_“I can’t.” Bucky wiped away the moisture on his cheeks and in his eyes, before turning to face him. “Steve’s lived the life he always wanted, I can’t guilt him over that Sam, I can’t. But, I can’t stay here. Not right now. The thought of what we could have had… it’s too raw right now.”_

_“What will you do?”_

_Bucky exhaled shakily. “I need to work out who I am. I need to work out who Bucky Barnes is without Steve Rogers. The serum in me will keep me alive longer than it will Steve, and I need to let myself heal before I come back to be beside him until he dies.”_

_“He won’t understand why you’ve gone.”_

_Bucky bit his lips, closing his eyes as more tears fell. “I’ll send a video message every now and again, keep you both posted on how I’m doing.”_

_The supersoldier stood and moved to his bed, grabbing the bag that was sitting on the mattress, and it was then that he realised Bucky had been planning this all along. He stood and followed Bucky out into the hall._

_“What do I tell him?”_

_“Tell him… tell him that I’m going to go see the world for a little while, try and decide who I want to be. But Sam?” It was Bucky’s turn to grip his shoulder. “You can’t tell Steve what I’ve just told you. He doesn’t need that kind of guilt placed on his shoulders.”_

_He nodded, and pulled Bucky into a hug. “You got it kid. Take care of yourself.”_

_“You too Sam.”_

The last he’d seen of Bucky was his back as he walked off in the opposite direction, towards the hangar where, he’d later learn, Shuri had a fully stocked ship waiting for him.

It had been three months, and he and Steve had felt Bucky’s absence keenly; Steve missing the presence of his best friend, and Sam missing the steady and reassuring presence that had his back.

He arrived at his destination and knocked twice before entering, groaning at the pleasant aroma that filled his nose.

“Steve, man, are you trying to make me fat?”

Steve looked up at him from where he’d been stirring the contents of a pot and smiled. “Hey Sam, you’re early.”

“Well when it’s the choice between paperwork or your cooking, I know what I’d prefer.”

He wandered further into the apartment, kicking off his shoes and heading to the cupboards to fetch plates and cutlery, setting them out on the counter for when Steve was ready.

“You need any help with the paperwork?” Steve asked him, pulling two beers from the fridge and handing one over. “I can take a look at some of it if you need me to.”

Sam smiled, taking the bottle and tilting the neck of it to Steve. The man rolled his eyes and reached over, giving the cap a twist and removing it easily.

“One day you might use the bottle opener I have,” the blond said, shaking his head in exasperation.

“Eh, what’s the point when you’re strong enough to remove it yourself?” He countered. “As for the paperwork, thanks for the offer – but I’ve got it. It’s nothing exciting, just some schematics Shuri sent over for me to have a look at. But honestly, I think I might need to send her another reminder to dumb down some of her explanations for those of us who aren’t quite at the genius level.”

Steve snorted, and went to remove the pan from the stove; carefully dishing out two portions of pasta for them. “If you tell her ‘explain it like you would to a five-year old,’ she might get it.”

“Rude. I’m at least at a thirteen year old’s intellect for this shit.” He watched his friend bustle around the kitchen, and felt a pang as he always did at the sight of Steve looking so much older.

Like Bucky, was happy for Steve; happy that he’d had the life he’d always wanted – but it didn’t mean he didn’t miss _his_ Steve. The Steve who could lap him without breaking into a sweat and who could spar and kick his ass to the curb.

The Steve he could always count on to have his back in a fight.

Speaking of Bucky though.

“Buck sent through a new video,” he told the older man, his heart aching at the way Steve’s baby blues lit up at the mention of his friend. “Do you want to watch it during or after dinner?”

He always asked this question, and the answer was always the same.

“During, Sam, come on. It means I don’t have to look at your ugly mug while I eat.”

Apparently Steve was feeling a bit feisty today. “Dude, my face has been blessed by the angels, you’re just jealous you never had anything on this cup of hot chocolate.”

Ignoring Steve’s spluttered laughter he scooped up the cutlery and some napkins and headed to the living room, settling them on the table before heading back for his plate. Steve handed it over before grabbing his own and armed with their dinner and beer both men headed for the couch, making themselves comfortable as Sam tapped on his kimoyo beads. He cycled through the files until he found the latest video message. He flicked his fingers, sending it to the TV and pressed play.

_“Hey guys, sorry it’s been a while between messages, I wasn’t in an area where there was a lot of coverage so I had to wait until I got out of the mountains.”_

He looked closely at Bucky, like he always did, to try and get an idea on how his friend was; how he was holding up in his self-imposed seclusion. His first thought was that Bucky looked tired, which was strange. Despite the grief that he’d been carrying around the first few weeks in the videos, as time had gone by so too had the burden on Bucky’s shoulders; the brunet looking a bit more peaceful each week.

But here, he didn’t look like he’d been sleeping, and there were circles under his eyes, made worse by the lighting in the jet he’d sent the video from. It could be associated with travelling over long distances, but something told him that wasn’t the case.

“He looks tired,” Steve mused, his voice low and concerned. “And stressed.”

_“I uh… I’m in Russia. I had this dream a few weeks ago, about when I fell from the train, and I dunno I just – coming here felt like the right thing to do. When I got here, some of the buildings triggered memories; my days of training in the Red Room, my… conditioning…” Bucky looked down and fiddled with something in his lap before looking up at the camera again. “I went looking for the facility where they took me when they first found me, and… I found it.”_

He looked over at Steve when he heard the man inhale sharply. Steve’s eyes were glued to the screen, and he looked devastated.

“Oh Buck,” Steve breathed, “why would you go there alone?”

 _“It’s deserted, before you freak out, and it looks like it has been since the war. I found where they held me… operated on me… photos of myself, from when I was first taken, files as well. I’ve read them and…”_ Bucky chuckled wetly, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly before taking a fortifying breath. _“And I haven’t stopped having nightmares since, so I’m sorry if I look like shit, because I certainly feel like it.”_

He wasn’t sure who’d groaned, but Steve looked just as worried as he thought he probably did. The last thing that kid needed on his trip of self-discovery were more reminders of the hellfire that had forged him.

 _“This has certainly been a complete 180 from the Grand Canyon where I was last month, that’s for sure.”_ That had been a nice video; Bucky looking out over the canyon at sunset and telling them about the history and geography he’d learned that day. Steve had teared up at that, and had admitted that he and Bucky had always spoken of going to the Canyon when they could afford it.

He also admitted that he’d taken Peggy there for their tenth wedding anniversary – and Sam could see that he felt guilty about doing so, when he never made it there with his best friend.

Bucky fiddled with a few buttons before showing them a thumb drive. _“I’m uploading this video to the drive so it can send it at a delayed time because… shit. I don’t know how else to put this, so I guess I’ll just have to come outright and say it. One of the files mentioned another facility I’d been stored at. Sam. Steve. I went there, and… it’s active.”_

“Fuck!” his dinner was well and truly abandoned by this point. He looked over at Steve, and saw the stricken look on his friend’s face, and he could only imagine how helpless the blond was feeling right then.

It didn’t matter how many of them went after Bucky to help him, and he was positive there would be several of them – none of them would be, or could be, Steve.

And the tear that rolled from Steve’s eye told him that Steve knew it too.

_“HYDRA is still alive and kicking pretty fucking fiercely, Sam, and I can’t let this go. HYDRA is what created me, and I plan on wiping every last one of them from the earth.”_

Sam swallowed at the look that had taken over Bucky’s face. He was still tired, but he was murderous; and he knew without a doubt that he’d make good on his promise or die trying.

And that was what worried him.

_“I’m going comms silent from here on out. I don’t plan on being gone for very long, and if it’s safe to do so I’ll be in touch. But if you don’t hear from me again; I’m so, so sorry for leaving you both – especially when I said I’d come home. Just know that I died doing what I’m good at, what I was made for.”_

Bucky flicked off a salute, and the video feed cut out, leaving both men in silence.

Activating his kimoyo beads again he pulled up the details from the video, groaning when he saw its origin date.

“This video is a week old, Steve,” he told the blond, wincing internally at Steve’s expression. The blond was devastated; the one mission he thought he’d completed on his friend’s behalf had been a lie. How, he had no idea – even Fury was convinced HYDRA had been eliminated, but obviously there were factions of the group that had banded together and were operating as strongly as they had when Pierce was in charge.

But this time, Steve wasn’t in any fit state to fight. He’d have to sit at home, waiting – helping coordinate, perhaps; but he couldn’t be in the thick of things to rescue his best friend.

_‘I vowed that I’d take how I felt to my grave, so he’d get the happily ever after he always wanted.’_

And Bucky would die, with Steve none the wiser as to his friend’s true feelings.

“Bucky’s not dead yet,” he told Steve. “We might be a week behind on his trail, but we’ll do our best to find him.”

Steve exhaled shakily, wiping tears from his eyes. “Find him Sam, please. Bring him home.”

 

* * *

 

_**Eleven months later** _

 

* * *

 

In the end, it wasn’t them who found Bucky, rather it was Bucky who managed to get a mayday out to them on their encrypted network.

The ship Shuri had given Bucky had been made untraceable; the man had clearly torn all tracking equipment from the machine and dumped it somewhere over the Pacific – but whether that was on their way to their next destination, or a deliberate ploy to keep anyone off their tail, Sam couldn’t say.

Without the ship, Shuri and T’Challa had dedicated numerous resources to tracking Bucky down, as well as looking for evidence of HYDRA – and what they found they’d burned to the ground. Photos had popped up, and the occasional piece of surveillance footage of a man dressed in black laying waste to buildings, gatherings of people, leaving a bloody, untraceable trail behind him – always two steps ahead and continuously out of reach.

And then the footage had changed.

First there’d been only one person in the images, and then there were two – the pair working together flawlessly as they laid waste to anyone who stood in their way.

It had made little sense to them, but he and Steve had taken comfort in the fact that Bucky had someone there to watch his back, whoever this person was.

 

He’d nearly given up hope of bringing Bucky home, despite his assurances to Steve they were doing their best, when a call at 3am had come in from Wakanda – telling him that they’d found him. After being briefed he’d called Strange, and the pair had used his sling ring so they could join T’Challa before shifting to the facility the SOS had come from.

Sam had mentally prepared himself for whatever situation he thought he might find.

But all that preparation had done nothing for what they were faced with.

 

The door to the medical ward slammed open, and Sam was pulled from his thoughts as he turned to greet Steve, his heart heavy at the hopeful look the blond had.

“Wanda told me you found him,” Steve said in way of a greeting. “How is he?”

“Steve,” he replied, swallowing back the bile that rose in his throat. “I’m so sorry man.”

Steve froze, the hope in his eyes quickly being swallowed by grief. “What do you mean? Sam,” he pressed when he didn’t answer fast enough, “what does that mean?”

“We found him in a HYDRA base,” he told the older man, pushing open another door and leading the way inside. “The Dora Milaje are busy mopping up; they’ll make sure nothing was missed in the initial raid, and they and M’Baku’s group took point while we searched for him.” He stopped and placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder, drawing his attention from where it’d been focused on a room bustling with medical personnel.

“Steve, we found him in the medical wing. He was holding the body of a woman that we believe is the same one from the surveillance photos – but we still don’t know who she is; only that Bucky cares for her a great deal. We had to pry her from his grasp so we could better assess his injuries.”

The blond bit his lip, turning his head away when several tears escaped. “What kind of injuries does he have?” he asked raggedly. “How bad is it, Sam?”

Sam looked at him apologetically and guided him into the medical room, swallowing thickly at the evidence of the torture Bucky had been subjected to. The kindest description he could come up with was that Bucky had had holes blown into him – not bullet inflicted holes, but holes that had likely been caused by an energy weapon, or worse.

They’d done their best to stabilise him, but the Wakandan doctors Wong had brought in after a brief phone call hadn’t had good news. Whatever tools HYDRA had used, it was stopping Bucky’s body from healing itself – and without knowing what was affecting him all they could do was make him comfortable.

He relayed this to Steve, then moved to the foot of the bed to give the man some space.

 

Steve crept closer, grief making each footstep feel like lead as he approached the bed. Bucky was moaning softly, the agony he was in etched into his face and it took everything in his power not to look at the holes that his friend was riddled with, instead he grabbed a chair and pulled it as close as he could to the right side of the bed; taking Bucky’s flesh hand in his own.

He looked down at their hands; Bucky’s bloodied, dirty yet smooth one enveloped in his old, wrinkled one.

Never had he felt his age more than he did now.

“Bucky? Hey Buck, it’s me,” he murmured, stroking a thumb over the back of his hand, while the other brushed the hair from Bucky’s eyes. “It’s Steve.”

Eyes glassy with pain turned slightly, looking at Steve but not seeing him. “St’e?”

“Yeah, Buck,” he breathed, leaning even closer, “it’s me. Do you know where you are?”

“St’e?” Bucky repeated. “My Ste…ve?”

Steve turned his head and looked at Sam questioningly.

“They gave him the strongest painkillers they could,” Sam told him quietly. “He arrested once when we found him, but we managed to bring him back. The painkillers are probably the only thing keeping him alive right now.”

“Christ,” he gasped, gripping Bucky’s hand tighter. The hand that had brushed Bucky’s hair from his eyes cupped his face, and he stroked a thumb over his friend’s temple. “You’re home, Buck. They brought you home.”

He cursed himself for the way his voice broke, but he couldn’t help it. His best friend was lying here, dying – and there was nothing he could do for him.

“Ste…eve,” Bucky repeated, grunting and gritting his teeth as a pain filled shudder rocked through him. “Steve, my Steve.”

Steve blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. There was nothing he could do for his friend, no way he could take away his pain. In all his 180 years, and there was nothing he could do.

“Steve?”

“Yeah Buck,” he replied tearfully. “I’m here.”

“’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” he asked weakly, still stroking Bucky’s temple and hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“’m sorry… ‘m sorry… for lov’ng you…”

He froze, looking at Bucky in shock. “…what?”

Bucky’s brow furrowed, as though fighting his way past the drugs to try and focus on what was happening around him. He cried out, and Steve heard Sam moving behind him, talking into this beads lowly.

“’m sorry, for lo…lov…ing… you…” Bucky repeated, the glassy sheen to his eyes receding slightly.

“I… I love you too, Buck,” he said slowly, confused, and slightly panicked. “You’re family. You’re my brother.” A long time ago, before Captain America, before the War, he’d loved Bucky as something more than a brother.

But he couldn’t; he couldn’t ruin his friendship, he couldn’t lose the only person he cared about more than anything. And then Peggy had come along, and loving her was easier, safer, and so he had allowed himself to fall for her. But that small pearl of unreserved love that he held for Bucky, he’d locked away in the deepest, fondest corners of his heart.

He couldn’t love Bucky the way he’d wanted, not if he wanted to keep him in his life, so he’d compromised.

And it was a compromise he’d happily made peace with long ago.

“N…no,” Bucky ground out, groaning as another wave of pain rolled over him. “I nev… never said it b…before, but I l…loved you. I loved y…you, and I l…lost you.”

“’I vowed that I’d take how I felt to my grave, so he’d get the happily ever after he always wanted.’”

He turned his head to look at Sam in alarm. “What?”

“That’s what he said to me, the night he left Wakanda,” Sam said sadly. “Steve, he’s been in love with you since you were kids.”

“Then why didn’t he say anything?” Steve looked at Bucky, squeezing his hand tighter still. “Buck,” he asked tearfully, “why didn’t you say something?”

“Sometimes the greatest display of love, can be the greatest of sacrifices,” Sam replied quietly. “You were in love with Peggy, he didn’t want to stand in the way of that.”

Bucky nodded. “I…it was a…always you,” he breathed, his voice growing faint beneath the squealing of alarms. “A…always you.”

“Bucky? Bucky! Hang in there, Buck, please,” he begged, gripping the hand in his tighter. There was a flurry of commotion as doctors hurried into the room, and so he leaned forwards when he saw the brunet’s lips move, desperate to hear what he had to say. As much as he wanted the doctors to hurry, he wanted them to shut up as well so he didn’t miss what was being said.

“T…till the e…end of li…”

The heart monitors let out a shrill, steady wail and Steve found himself carefully but firmly removed from Bucky’s side, his cries for Bucky drowned out by the shouting of the medical professionals.

Sam dragged him from the room and collapsed on the floor next to him, holding him close. Steve buried his head in his friend’s neck and cried; full bodied, heart wrenching sobs.

He cried in such a way he hadn’t when he’d lost Peggy, in both his lives; the first because he hadn’t gotten as much time with her as he should have, and the second because he got the lifetime he’d always wanted, and he’d come to peace with the knowledge that he wouldn’t always have her – but cherished the time he did.

But Bucky… he cried for the loss of his best friend. He cried for the loss of his brother.

He cried for the lost possibilities, and knew that in this life, he’d get no do-overs.

He’d always promised Bucky that they’d be together till the end of the line, and Bucky had reached the end of his.

Without him.

**Author's Note:**

> The OFC at the end was meant to have a bigger part in this, but alas it is late and quite frankly I couldn't be assed. Besides, her storyline was going to be used in my multi-chapter Stucky fic, so I don't have to go and ruin who she is here, hooray!
> 
> Long story short for whoever wants to know, is that she was a prisoner of HYDRA, Bucky freed her and then they went on a rampage together. The end.


End file.
